Learning A Very Important Lesson From A Kid

In my adult life I never thought that I would learn the biggest lesson I could ever learn in life, from a kid. It all started when I watched a movie I missed seeing when it was first shown in theaters. Please allow me to tell you about it.

Of the hundreds of movies I have seen so far, only one made a profound, life-changing impact on me. Essentially, in watching the movie, I learned what I think is the most important lesson about living, from a kid. 

All my life, people I know kept telling me I am a good man. I never bothered to study myself to find out if they were right. I simply took their word for it and went on with my life believing that what they said of me was true ... until ... I watched the movie, Pay It Forward.

Then, I realized, I was not really the good man I thought I have always been, after all. I've been living a lie. 

The movie revealed what I have come to see as a major flaw in my character. It hit hard where my ego hurt the most: the realization that I was selfish all along. I wasn't doing what a real good man was supposed to be doing. And that is: doing good from the heart with no strings attached. 

Yes I did good, countless times, but I did only when asked. Very rarely did I volunteer to do good.

Thank God for the movie, I came to my senses. My life was never the same again afterwards. There's a lot more that I need to work on in making things right about myself and I cannot expect to be perfectly good in my physical life, but I'm making progress. 



Along the lines of "paying it forward," all I want to do now is pass on to others the many good things ...

Doing Good and Giving From The Heart

We have always known kids to be selfish ... that if you don't give them what they ask -- pronto, they throw tantrums and won't stop until  you give in. 

But there is something about kids that I like the most: when they give, they give from the heart. 

Not so with adults (of course not everyone). To a good number of grownups, "What's in it for me?" is the first thought that comes to mind when they find themselves about to part with something they possess to give to someone else. I admit, I have been guilty of this, myself, on several occasions. Thankfully, that's all been changed when I watched the movie, Pay It Forward.

I was just thinking, if only everyone, the world over, has the pureness of a child's heart, there would be none of the troubles and miseries now plaguing mankind. There would be no poverty, no hunger, no hate, no wars, no suffering, no wickedness.

Because of selfishness and greed, we have become like the beasts of the jungle who know no better than kill to survive. Such savagery, however, is understandable because these animals live by instinct not by reason, by necessity rather than want. For that reason, it could be said that mankind is worse because we are equipped with minds that could reason and hearts that could love but then, instead of being what we are supposed to be, we think and act on the contrary.

The Greatness of Little Things

Have you noticed how big and wide the ripples would grow when you throw a tiny pebble into the water? 

How about that big tree in your backyard under whose shade you often find yourself cooling off during summer, did you pause a moment to ponder how it grew so large from the tiny seed that it once was just like the one you extracted from its fruit moments ago? 

Little things becoming big in the course of time is so common a knowledge, perhaps only a little kid just out of his/her diapers would wonder how such a thing could have happened, that we regard it not worth spending time to think about. 

Insignificant as it may seem though, this phenomenon, if you like, affects every aspect of our physical existence regardless of whether or not we take cognizance of it. 

Thank You Very Much

Some kind of euphoria is sweeping over me as I write this post. Can't help it. Since I set up this blog just a few days back,  I've been getting favorable responses, positive feedback, perfect 10 reviews from Linkreferral members and encouragement, left and right.

I'm inspired like I've never experienced before in previous undertakings. I'd say, I have finally found my place under the sun. Indeed, there really is nothing like doing good.

But I have only just begun. The road ahead is long and hard and for sure, it's not going to be an easy ride for me. There'd be difficulties and challenges to face but for as long as there are people like you with a golden heart who unselfishly lend a helping hand, I'm confident I will succeed.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Good Begets Good - The Golden Rule

"Do unto others what you would want others do unto you," so states the golden rule espoused by practically all religions of the world. 

Simply stated, treat others as you want to be treated. Naturally, each one of us wants to be treated well. You do, don't you?

What a real nice place this world would be if everyone just lived religiously by the golden rule. Sadly, in this dog-eat-dog world where selfishness reigns supreme in the hearts of men, the golden rule, though still generally accepted to be the right thing to do, has become nothing more than just an expression of rightness that has lost its relevance and have very little use in the real world. 

The sad thing about it is: when this golden rule, by the least of chances, is practiced, it is not to serve the noble purpose of building mutually beneficial relationships but to satisfy selfish objectives, like when trying to gain favor or advantage over a negotiated deal.

God minced no words when He said: "They worship me with their lips but their hearts are far from me." A clear indictment of men's hypocrisy.

What You Do To Others Will Be Done To You

View more presentations from He Yan

Nothing Like Doing Good - Pass it On.

Hello Friend,

Welcome to my new blog. This is my first post and here, I'd like to discuss the issue of selfishness as the stumbling block to thinking and doing good, wholeheartedly with no strings attached.

If there is any human weakness that we can regard as the main culprit in all of the wretchedness and suffering in the world, it is: SELFISHNESS. 

No one would like to admit that he/she is selfish. But that doesn't change the reality of the fact that everyone is selfish, to one degree or another. From the least of us, to the greatest, everyone is guilty of selfishness at some point(s) in his/her life. Anyone who says otherwise is blind to his/her carnal proclivities.

Listen to what the Bible says about selfishness: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet but you cannot have what you want ... because (of) wrong motives, that you spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:1.3)